Brown expecting big things from Crusaders

By Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Sunday

Nov 6, 2011 at 12:03 AMNov 6, 2011 at 6:55 AM

R.J. Evans spent most of 2010-11 on the bench, supporting his Holy Cross teammates, wishing he could help, and watching intently as the Crusaders suffered through their second straight losing season. But, Evans said, not everything he observed was bad.

R.J. Evans spent most of 2010-11 on the bench, supporting his Holy Cross teammates, wishing he could help, and watching intently as the Crusaders suffered through their second straight losing season.

But, Evans said, not everything he observed was bad.

“At the beginning of the season, we had a lot of rough patches,” HC’s junior guard said, “but by the end, I saw something forming there.”

The Crusaders began last year 0-8 and won just one nonconference game. They did regroup to go 7-7 in the Patriot League, finish in third place and host a PL Tournament game, so maybe Evans was on to something.

“The group we have coming back, we stayed up this summer and kept forming,” Evans said. “We’re a lot closer than we were last year. It just feels right this year.”

Coach Milan Brown enters his second season at Holy Cross, and that continuity, something HC’s upperclassmen haven’t had — the seniors played for three coaches their first three years — has got to help.

Brown is very high on freshman point guard Justin Burrell, who committed to play for Brown at Mount St. Mary’s, prepped last year and followed the coach to Holy Cross. The return of Evans and junior big man Phil Beans, who had a chair right next to Evans last season, should also give the Crusaders a lift.

“We’re expecting big things from those two,” Brown said.

The 6-foot-3 Evans was the 2008-09 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and led Holy Cross in scoring (13.4 ppg) the next season. He started the first eight games last year before the pain of a sports hernia became too excruciating.

“I tried to push through it,” Evans said, “but it got to the point where the pain was so bad I couldn’t even stand up one day in practice.”

Evans had surgery in January, rehabbed and recovered through the summer and is 100 percent now.

As Evans has shown, he has the ability to take the ball to the rim, and he is a good rebounder. Evans, part of a deep group of wings that also includes seniors Devin Brown and Mike Cavataio, junior Jordan Stevens and freshman Malcolm Miller, said he’s been working on his outside shooting and, yes, his free-throw shooting.

Evans’ most important role this year, though, might be that of vocal leader, a personality that was missing from last year’s team.

“Even when I was hurt,” Evans said, “Coach Brown took me aside and said, ‘I need you to be more vocal. You can lead this team with your voice. Your word carries a lot with this team.’ I’ve been working on that every day at practice.”

Evans, Devin Brown and Cavataio coordinated a month-long program for the team, including the freshmen, in June. It included shooting, individual workouts and a lifting schedule. By all accounts, it was successful and another way of bringing the team closer together.

Evans and Beans extended their bonding time, spending the whole summer at Holy Cross, working together, working out together and excitedly awaiting the start of the season.

“R.J. and I have been talking about it ever since we were on the bench together,” Beans said, “how we can’t wait to get back at it. We’re just two pieces of the puzzle we were missing last year. Everyone on our team has his own piece that they add, and the more pieces we put together collectively, the better off we will be.”

The 6-9, 230-pound Beans came off the bench as a freshman, earned a starting spot last year and was expected to give HC a strong post presence. A toe injury, diagnosed as turf toe, caused Beans to miss all but seven games. He opted not to have surgery and rather let the injury heal naturally, and he has come back in outstanding physical condition.

“Phil is going to be a scorer on the block,” Brown said, “and he’s also going to make some 3s for us. He gives us a versatile post because now he stretches the defense from 2 to 22 feet. He’s probably the best post player we have in terms of maneuvering with the basketball, and he brings a physical aspect as far as block-outs and rebounds and just being a big guy inside.”

Beans has also demonstrated his leadership abilities during the preseason.

“In practice, we’re on different teams,” Evans said, “and Phil is usually the one talking to his team, and I’m usually the one talking to my team. We complement each other, so when we come together as a team, we should have constant talk the whole game.”

The lines of communication are continually clearer between coach and players this year, too. The Crusaders have a better grasp of Brown’s system and what he wants, Brown knows his players and what they can do, and all involved are eager to learn from and improve upon last year’s shortcomings.

“The biggest thing with Coach Brown,” Beans said, “is you really want to win for him because he wants it just as bad as us. He wears his emotion on his sleeve, and we can’t help but follow that.”

Season outlook: In the last three years, Holy Cross has undergone three coaching changes and two losing seasons. Through it all, HC’s players have stuck together and they are hoping their improved play over the second half of last season is something they can build on this year. “We’ve been excited about the growth of our team,” Milan Brown said. “The cohesiveness of our unit, it’s been exciting to see, and they want to get the bad taste out of their mouths.” HC returns three starters, the veterans have a year of experience in Brown’s system and the team has added some promising freshmen. The Crusaders look to play an up-tempo style and man-to-man defense like they did last year, but at a more consistent level. HC led the PL in rebounding last season and the return of Evans and Beans from injury should help the Crusaders be strong in that category again. HC lost 11 games by six points or less last year and were the PL’s worst free throw shooting team (65 percent). Both of those areas have been addressed extensively during the preseason.

Schedule:

Nov. 11…at Charleston, 7

Nov. 15…Harvard, 7

*Nov. 18…Boston College, 7:30

Nov. 20…at Fairfield, 1

Nov. 23…Hartford, 7

Nov. 27…at Maine, 2

Nov. 29…at Providence, 7

Dec. 3…UNH, 7

Dec. 6…at Columbia, 7

Dec. 9…Sacred Heart, 7

Dec. 18…at UConn, 1

Dec. 22…San Francisco, 7

Dec. 31…at Dartmouth, 2

Jan. 3…at Yale, 7

Jan. 7…Lehigh, 3:30

Jan. 11…Navy, 7

Jan. 14…at American, 2

Jan. 19…Lafayette, 7

Jan. 21…at Bucknell, 7

Jan. 25…at Army, 7

Jan. 28…Colgate, 5

Feb. 4…at Lehigh, 2

Feb. 8…at Navy, 7

Feb. 11…American, 2

Feb. 15…at Lafayette, 7

Feb. 18…Bucknell, 4

Feb. 22…Army, 7

Feb. 25…at Colgate, 4

*at DCU Center

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